Assessors, commissioners warn of confusion and local revenue loss as DOR reports application counts and readiness

County assessors and local officials pressed the Revenue Committee on June 2 about administrative burden and local budget impacts from recent property-tax changes, while Department of Revenue staff described application activity and the department’s plans for administering new exemptions.

Ken Gill, property tax administrator for the Wyoming Department of Revenue, told the committee that, “as of yesterday morning, we had 10,636 applications” for the property-tax refund program; he said the department had issued “5,015 refunds” and paid “$5,103,534.81” as of that snapshot. Gill said the department expects to continue processing refunds through the statutory window and that an appropriation of $10.5 million in 2025 will be available to assist the refund program.

Gill also reported that county assessors had collected more than 31,700 applications submitted for the 50% long-term-homeowner exemption as of May 28, and he told members the department had built a web application to allow homeowners to attest to owner-occupancy. “We have programmed a website that everyone in the state can go to,” Gill said; he described the site as usable on phones and designed to generate a signed attestation that county assessors can import into their CAMA systems.

County assessors and commissioners described operational headaches and fiscal stress. Dan Thomas, Crook County assessor and spokesman for the Wyoming County Assessors Association, said county assessors have seen confusion from taxpayers and recommended clearer assessment notices. Thomas asked the committee to “enhance the notice of assessor notice evaluation” so taxpayers can more easily understand how multiple exemptions apply.

Local elected officials gave concrete examples of revenue pressure. Weston County Commissioner Ed Wagner told the committee that Weston County expects roughly $220,000 in lost revenue from the new exemptions and that special districts in the county could lose about $338,000; he said the county’s reserve is limited and that cuts to services are possible. Campbell County Commissioner Scott Clem said Campbell has not levied the full 12 mills for several years and expects ample assessed value, but he warned that the owner-occupancy verification could create a large administrative burden for counties if the department required an application for every qualifying owner.

Assessors also asked for more public-facing materials and better access to data. Gill and LSO staff agreed to provide more detailed spreadsheets and county-by-county tables showing assessed-value exemptions and illustrative tax-dollar impacts; Gill recommended waiting until the State Board of Equalization finishes certification of values later in June for final statewide totals.

Why it matters

Counties rely on property-tax collections to fund roads, public safety, schools and special districts. Changes that materially reduce taxable assessed value in particular counties shift costs to other revenue sources or force reductions in services. The combination of the 4% cap, the 25% homeowner exemption (SF 69), the 50% long-term-homeowner exemption and business personal-property changes has produced significant, concentrated effects in high-value counties such as Teton, while smaller counties report acute budget effects from comparatively modest absolute dollar losses.

Key numbers and examples

- Property-tax refund program: 10,636 applications received (DOR snapshot), 5,015 refunds issued, $5,103,534.81 refunded as of the morning snapshot reported to the committee; DOR has until the statutory date to complete payments. - Long-term-homeowner applications: DOR reported 31,705 applications received by county assessors as of May 28; DOR estimated final counts in the low 32,000s after late filings. - Exempted assessed value: LSO presented a 2024 figure of about $300.7 million of assessed value exempted under the 4% cap; LSO staff said 44.6% of that amount was attributable to Teton County. - Local fiscal impacts: Weston County Commissioner Ed Wagner said the county will lose about $220,000 in county mills and about $338,000 in special-district revenue; the county’s reserve is limited and further cuts may be required.

Administration and next steps

DOR said it can supply county-level spreadsheets, and Gill agreed to provide more detailed breakouts (including account-level abstract codes) after certification of assessed values by the State Board of Equalization. County assessors asked to be included in further drafting of implementation materials and forms; the committee asked staff to share a decoder/legend for CAMA classification codes and to circulate LSO and DOR spreadsheets to committee members.

Ending

Committee members pressed for clearer notices, more public outreach and rapid follow-up data. DOR and LSO committed to provide county-level spreadsheets and implementation guidance ahead of the committee’s next meeting.